Continuous dust accumulation monitoring system

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of a continuous dust accumulation monitoring system comprise an enclosure adapted for use in electrical hazardous locations, a sample area for collecting ambient dust, a dust accumulation sensor assembly installed in the enclosure configured to generate a signal based on the amount of ambient dust collected on the sample area and a circuit board within the enclosure configured to receive the signal from the dust accumulation sensor assembly. The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system may be connected to system control hardware.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The following application is a continuation application of pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/136,221 filed on Dec. 29, 2020, whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional No. 63/061,991 filed Aug. 13, 2020and U.S. Provisional No. 62/955,545 filed Dec. 31, 2019, all of whichare herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a monitor for dust accumulation, andmore particularly, to a continuous dust accumulation monitoring systemwith a system control.

BACKGROUND

Combustible dust and hazardous dust remain a large concern in industriesglobally. As defined by the National Electric Code, Class II locationsare those that are hazardous because of the presence of combustibledust. Class II locations are further divided into subdivisions, whereinDivision 1 locations are defined as an area where the amount ofcombustible dust is either suspended in the air or accumulated onsurfaces in a sufficient concentration to allow for ignition. The typesof combustible dust are classified under Groups E, F and G. Group E andF dusts are considered conductive, whereas Group G dusts are not.

Industries with potential dust hazards are required to perform dusthazard analysis at their plants to identify and document potential dusthazards and develop a plan to mitigate fires and hazards. TheOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a standard thatindustries must maintain plant cleanliness with combustible dustaccumulations less than 1/32″ over any continuous 1,000 square footarea.

To date, the only way to measure dust accumulation is visuallyconducting inspections and checking dust accumulation levels using agauge measurement tool that is typically the thickness of a US quarter.Personnel must physically measure dust to determine dust accumulationthickness, then assess whether the level of dust over a 1,000 squarefoot area is averaging over OSHA permissible limits of 1/32″. Physicallymonitoring dust accumulation in risk areas of a manufacturing plantusing either self-policing plant personnel or regulatory personnel istime-consuming and an unrealistic way to continuously monitor dustaccumulation levels 24/7.

There are currently no continuous dust accumulation monitors that arepackaged in a Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or UnderwritersLaboratories (UL) certified enclosure rated for use in Class II,Division I Groups E, F & G enclosures for continuous use in combustibledust areas. Nor is there a continuous dust accumulation monitor that iscertified to be used in ATEX (a European Union directive for protectionagainst explosive atmospheres) hazardous dust areas. Thus, there remainsa need for continuous dust accumulation monitoring systems in a facilitythat is compliant with both US and European standards and does notrequire personnel to physically monitor the premises.

SUMMARY

To this end, a continuous dust accumulation monitoring system isprovided. In some embodiments, the continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system may utilize various types of wave scattering formeasuring dust, including but not limited to visible, ultraviolet andinfrared light scattering and back scattering. In some embodiments, thecontinuous dust accumulation monitoring system may utilize laser,magnetics, sonar, radar, digital camera or ultrasound technologies aspossible measurement principles for continuously measuring dust as itaccumulates. Multiple continuous dust accumulation monitoring systemsmay be installed throughout an industrial facility to continuouslygather dust accumulation levels and relay this information to systemcontrol via a network node using a wired or wireless communicationtechnology such as, but not limited to, Ethernet, optical fiber, Wi-Fi,LoRa, radio frequency (RF) or Bluetooth. Once data points are in thesystem control, the data can be analyzed using algorithms to determinecontinuous average dust accumulations in risks areas identified in anindustrial plant. Alarms can be triggered once dust accumulationsincrease to unacceptable levels.

In one embodiment, the continuous dust accumulation monitoring systemmay include an enclosure adapted for use in electrical hazardouslocations, a sample area (e.g., a sample area on an external surface ofthe enclosure) for collecting ambient dust, a dust accumulation sensorassembly installed in the enclosure configured to generate a signalbased on the amount of ambient dust collected on the sample area and acircuit board within the enclosure configured to receive the signal fromthe dust accumulation sensor assembly. A mounting assembly may beincluded for mounting the enclosure onto a surface. Surfaces may includeflat surfaces (e.g., the ground, workspaces, etc.) or curved surfaces(e.g., pipes, rails, etc.). In some embodiments, the sample area may bewithin the enclosure.

The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system may also include oneor more communication terminals in connection with the circuit board.For example, the one or more communication terminals may include a wiredor wireless communication terminal, an Ethernet communication terminal,a 4 . . . 20 mA signal current loop communication terminal, and a RS-485communication terminal. In some embodiments, the wireless communicationterminal uses a communication protocol such as Wi-Fi, LoRa, radiofrequency and Bluetooth.

In some embodiments, the continuous dust accumulation monitoring systemmay include an antenna for transmitting the signal to another device.For example, the antenna may transmit the signal to a network node. Thenetwork node may comprise a wireless repeater adapted to relay thesignal to another wireless repeater or a wireless router installed on acomputer. The signal may be uploaded to a server such as a cloud-baseddata acquisition system.

The dust accumulation sensor assembly may include one or more sensorsselected from the group comprising an optical sensor, a magnetic sensor,an electrostatic sensor, a radar sensor, a sonar sensor, a photo sensorand a load cell. Examples of suitable optical sensors include lasersensors, infrared sensors, ambient light sensors, UV light sensors andLED sensors.

In some embodiments, the optical sensor is configured to measure theamount of ambient dust collected on the sample area using lightscattering. In some embodiments, the optical sensor is configured tomeasure the amount of ambient dust collected on the sample area usingbackscattering. In some embodiments, the optical sensor is configured tomeasure the amount of ambient dust collected on the sample area usinglight absorption.

The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system may further includeone or more local communication ports connected to the circuit boardadapted to communicate with a computing device connected to the localcommunication port. For example, the local communication port may be anEthernet, HDMI or USB port.

The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system may include an alarmsystem connected to the circuit board, wherein the circuit boardprovides an alert signal to the alarm system when the dust accumulatedon the sample area has exceeded a threshold. For example, the circuitboard may provide an alert signal to the alarm system when the dustaccumulated on the sample area has exceeded a threshold of about 1/32inches.

These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art after a reading of the following description of theembodiments when considered with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system shown in FIG. 1 with the enclosure removed;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the continuous dust accumulation monitoringsystem shown in FIG. 1 with the enclosure removed;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front perspective view of a sample area with ascale for measuring dust height according to one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a continuous dust accumulation monitoringsystem according to one embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system with an automated cleaning assembly according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front elevation view of the sample area andautomated cleaning assembly shown in FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of a continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system with an automated cleaning assembly according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system shown in FIG. 8 with the enclosure removed;

FIG. 10 is a right side perspective view of a continuous dustaccumulation monitoring system with an automated cleaning assemblyaccording to one embodiment;

FIG. 11 is left side perspective view of the continuous dustaccumulation monitoring system shown in FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view of the continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system shown in FIG. 10 with the enclosure removed;

FIG. 13 is a front perspective view of a continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system with a line laser according to one embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a graph disclosing the differences for measuring dust heightaccumulated on a sample area using a collimated versus an uncollimatedlaser;

FIG. 15 is a graph measuring heights for various types of dustaccumulated on a sample area of a continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system;

FIG. 16 is a side elevation view of a wireless repeater according to oneembodiment; and

FIG. 17 is a side elevation view of a wireless router according to oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The foregoing and other aspects of the present invention will now bedescribed in more detail with respect to the description andmethodologies provided herein. It should be appreciated that theinvention can be embodied in different forms and should not be construedas limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art.

The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is forthe purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is notintended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description ofthe embodiments of the invention and the appended claims, the singularforms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms aswell, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Also, as usedherein, “and/or” refers to and encompasses any and all possiblecombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As used herein, the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” “comprising,”“include,” “includes” and “including” specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof.

All patents, patent applications and publications referred to herein areincorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of a conflict interminology, the present specification is controlling.

In accordance with the present invention, a continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system is provided. As seen in FIGS. 1-3 , the continuousdust accumulation monitoring system 10 comprises an enclosure 12 and asample area 14 for collecting ambient dust. The amount of ambient dustcollected on the sample area 14 is measured using a dust accumulationsensor assembly 16 installed within enclosure 12.

The enclosure 12 may be configured to be UL/CSA certified for use in atleast the following electrical hazardous categories: Class 1 Groups B, Cand D; Class 2, Division 1, Subgroups E, F & G; Class 3 Type 4X; Class 1Zone 1 AEx d IIC; and Ex d IIC IEC 60529 IP66. In one embodiment, theenclosure 12 may be approximately 3-6″ diameter in a metal enclosure.The enclosure 12 may alternatively be configured as a box-type shape.The enclosure 12 may further include a mounting assembly 22 for mountingthe enclosure 12 onto a surface. The enclosure 12 may further includeconduits 21 as physical connections for attachment and/or running wiresto/from the continuous dust accumulation system.

As seen in FIG. 2 , the monitoring system 10 further includes a circuitboard 20. The circuit board may include a processor, memory, dry contactrelays, fuses for 24 VDC power, attenuation filter, alarm circuits, oneor more communication terminals, antenna fuses and embedded software.The embedded software may include functional blocks such as test andmeasurement orchestration, image processing, communication management,self-test and calibration, alarm generation/management, etc.

A backup battery system may also be housed inside the enclosure 12.Examples of communication terminals include 4 . . . 20 mA signalcommunication terminals, RS 485 communication terminals, Ethernet IPcommunication terminals, and wireless communication terminals such as RFcommunication terminals, Wi-Fi communication terminals, and Bluetoothcommunication terminals.

An antenna may be attached to the exterior of the enclosure 12 for RF,Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth communication to a network node. In oneembodiment, the network node may comprise a wireless (or wired) repeater30 and a wireless (or wired) router 50 (shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 ,respectively) located in a customer's control room. Embodiments of theexterior of the enclosure 12 can employ one or more wiring ports toallow 24 VDC power and communication cabling to be wired to themonitoring system 10. Additionally, the monitoring system 10 may includea local communication port 24 located on the outside of the enclosure 12for local computer connection. The local communication port 24 may betied into the circuit board 20 and enable customers to locally programand monitor each monitoring system 10 at an installed location. Visualstatus indicators 23 (e.g., LED lights) may be included to indicatevarious states of the continuous dust accumulation monitoring system,including but not limited to a power status, connection to wiring portand/or local communication port 42, connectivity to a PLC/server and anerror/malfunction status.

One or more alarm systems 31 may be in communication with the circuitboard 20, wherein the circuit board 20 provides an alert signal to thealarm system 31 when the dust accumulated on the sample area 14 hasexceeded a threshold. For example, the circuit board may provide analert signal to the alarm system 31 when the dust accumulated on thesample area has exceeded a threshold. For instance, the threshold may bedefined by a dust height of about 1/32, 1/16 or ⅛ inches. The thresholdsmay be predefined by a manufacturer or adjusted by an end-user. In oneembodiment, the alarm system 31 may include a sound alarm such as apiezo alarm.

In some embodiments, the dust accumulation sensor assembly 16 maycomprise an optical sensor 17 with a corresponding detector 18. Forexample, the optical sensor 17 may be an infrared red digital camera, aLED laser light to a receiver, a laser light to a carbon fiber receiver,or a laser light to a fiber optic cable receiver. The optical sensor 17may detect and measure the amount of dust accumulated on the sample areausing light scattering technology, backscattering technology, or lightabsorption technology.

Other embodiments of the dust accumulation sensor assembly may employcrystals, magnetic or electrostatic sensors to measure the amount ofdust accumulated on the sample area. Radar or sonar sensors may also beused to measure accumulated dust. Some embodiments may also employ aload cell for measuring and/or verifying the amount of accumulated duston the sample area 14. The sensor assembly 16 may be adapted toaccurately measure dust accumulation level between the range of 0 inchesto 1 inch and 0 mm to 25 mm and monitor dust particles as low as 0.1microns.

In some embodiments, the dust accumulation sensor assembly 16 maycomprise one or more sensors 17. For example, the sensor assembly 16 maycomprise two or more sensors. In some embodiments, the two or moresensors 17 may comprise a single type of sensor (e.g., an opticalsensor), while in other embodiments the two or more sensors may comprisemultiple types of sensors (e.g., an optical sensor in combination with aload cell).

In some embodiments, a digital camera may be used in combination withone or more sensors to measure and/or verify the amount of accumulateddust on the sample area. For example, a digital camera and laser may beused. In some embodiments, the digital camera may also be configured tomeasure additional properties of dust in the environment. For example,the digital camera may be configured to measure the size of dustparticles and/or the concentration of dust that is airborne near thesample area.

FIG. 3 is one example of a continuous dust accumulation monitoringsystem 10 having multiple sensors. As seen in FIG. 3 , the dustaccumulation sensor assembly 16 is comprised of a laser 17 a and acamera 17 b. The laser 17 a is detected by the photoresistor 18. As dustaccumulates on the sample area 14, dust height may be measured by thereduction in opacity of the laser 17 a as detected by the photoresistor18. The camera 17 b may be used to visually determine the height ofaccumulated dust 11 on the sample area. As seen in FIG. 4 , a scale 13may be included to measure the height of accumulated dust 11. In someembodiments, the circuit board 20 may further include software utilizingmachine/computer vision and machine learning to automatically detectwhen the dust height reaches and/or exceeds a dust level threshold. Thecontinuous dust accumulation monitoring system 10 may include a screen(e.g., LCD, LED, OLED, etc.), as shown in FIG. 3 , which may be used toprovide a scale 13. An optical system 25 comprised of one or more lenses(e.g., concave and/or convex lenses) may be used to provide a desiredfocal length.

In one embodiment, the continuous dust accumulation sensor assembly 16comprises one sensor 17 wherein the height of the sensor is adjustable.For example, the sensor 17 may be mounted onto a platform 19 having anadjustable height. The adjustable height may be useful for modifyingdust level thresholds or for providing a measurement for dust levelspresent on the sample area 14. In some embodiments, the sample area 14may comprise a platform 19 with internal threadings to receive a screw33 on the bottom of the sample area 14 as seen in FIG. 1 . The height ofthe platform 19 may be adjusted by turning the screw in the desireddirection.

FIG. 5 depicts one embodiment of a continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system 10′ with laser sensors 17 a, 17 b and 17 c andcorresponding detectors 18 a, 18 b and 18 c. The laser sensors may beplaced at different heights to indicate specific dust level thresholds.In some embodiments, the laser sensors and detectors may each be mountedon a platform 19 having an adjustable height. In other embodiments, thedust accumulation sensor may comprise a single laser sensor with a setof different detectors placed at different designated heights.

The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system 10 may furtherinclude an automated cleaning assembly configured to remove accumulateddust from the sample area 14. In some embodiments, the automatedcleaning assembly may utilize one or more mechanisms for removingaccumulated dust off the surface area, such as acoustic, vibratory,airflow (e.g., via fans) and/or compressed air. For example, theautomated cleaning assembly may be a vibration assembly that uses one ormore high frequencies to cause the accumulated dust on the surface areato become airborne. An air pulse may be used in conjunction with thevibration assembly to remove the airborne and accumulated dust from thearea.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate one embodiment of a continuous dustaccumulation monitoring system with an automated cleaning assemblycomprising a lid assembly 27. The lid assembly 27 comprises a samplearea 14 on top of and connected to a platform 19 via a hinge 37. Dust iscollected on the sample area 14 and may be removed by rotating thesample area 14 upward for the dust to fall off of its top. For example,the bottom of the sample area 14 may be struck by a solenoid within theplatform, which jettisons the sample area 14 upward. Since the samplearea 14 is hingedly connected to the platform (e.g., via a bolt or apin), the lid rotates and eventually stops (e.g., via a physical stop).Although the sample area 14 is stopped from further rotation, the dustcollected on the sample area surface 14 will continue to move due toinertia and therefore is removed from the surface of the sample area 14.

Another embodiment of an automated cleaning assembly is shown in FIGS. 8and 9 . In this embodiment, the automated cleaning assembly is anairflow-based cleaning assembly. The airflow-based cleaning assemblycomprises a fan 29 within a channel 28. During operation of the cleaningassembly, the fan 29 blows air out of the channel 28 to remove dust fromthe sample area 14.

FIGS. 10-12 illustrate another embodiment of an airflow-based cleaningassembly with dual air vents on each side of the sample area 14. As seenin FIG. 12 , the airflow-based cleaning assembly comprises a firstchannel 28 a and second channel 28 b diagonally opposed to each other. Afirst fan 29 a is positioned within an interior of the first vent 28 aand a second fan 29 b is positioned within an interior of the secondvent 28 b. Each fan may be a centrifugal fan and an air intake may beincluded at the bottom of each centrifugal fan. During operation of theairflow-based cleaning assembly, the first and second centrifugal fanspull air in from their respective air intakes to blow air out of theirrespective channels to create a cyclical air current that blows dustaway from the sample area 14.

The automated cleaning assembly enables the continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system to self-clean the sample area and eliminate the needfor manual cleaning by personnel. In certain embodiments, the digitalcamera may be configured to monitor and verify whether the sample areahas been cleaned by the automated cleaning assembly. Moreover, thedigital camera may be configured to measure one or more properties fromthe airborne dust caused by a vibration assembly, including measuringthe size of dust particles and/or the concentration of dust aspreviously discussed.

In some embodiments, the continuous dust accumulation monitoring systemfurther includes one or more additional sensors configured to measureadditional properties in the ambient area. For example, sensors may beemployed to measure the humidity, airflow and/or temperature of thesurrounding environment.

In some embodiments, the dust accumulation sensor 16 may be a lasersystem. For example, the system may use a dot laser to measure dustheight on a sample area. Preferred embodiments of a laser system utilizea line laser as shown in FIG. 13 , which provides greater accuracy andreliability in determining accumulated dust height. The line lasersystem may be oriented vertically, horizontally or at an angle.

FIG. 14 compares the performance of a collimated laser versus anuncollimated laser. The collimated laser is depicted by the lower curveand the uncollimated laser is depicted by the upper curve. The graphshows that collimated lasers have a sensitivity useful for small changesin dust heights (about 0.015 inches). The signal from the uncollimatedlaser is not noticeably lower until a dust height of 0.075 inches isreached. This height is more than double what the allowable limit ofOSHA is. Thus, preferred embodiments of a laser sensor utilize acollimated laser though some embodiments may still employ anuncollimated laser. In some embodiments, collimation may be achievedusing a lens or a mirror. In other embodiments, collimation may beachieved by placing the receiver 18 in a recess of the enclosure 12. Therecess may comprise a pinhole having a diameter proportional to thethreshold for a dust height.

FIG. 15 compares dust heights for a variety of different dust types andaccumulation patterns, including flour distributed evenly along thesample area surface, flour distributed unevenly along the sample areasurface, sawdust distributed evenly along the sample area surface, andsawdust distributed unevenly along the sample area surface. The resultsindicate that this embodiment is capable of accurately measuring heightsfor a variety of dust types and distribution patterns along the samplearea surface.

In operation, the sensor assembly 16 is adapted to continuously measuredust levels as it accumulates on the sample area 14 and relay thisinformation via hardwire communication (4 . . . 20 mA signal, RS-485 orEthernet IP) and/or wireless communication using RF, Wi-Fi or Bluetoothto a wireless repeater 30 or a central wireless router 50 located in acustomer's control room. One or more wireless repeaters 30 may beinstalled at a location to relay signals from individual monitoringsystems 10 to a central wireless router in a control room if signalinterruptions are detected between the monitoring system 10 and acentral wireless router 50.

FIG. 16 depicts one embodiment of a wireless repeater 30 with a circuitboard 36 adapted to relay wireless signals from monitoring system 10back to a central wireless router 50. The wireless repeater 30 may beencased in a metal enclosure 32 with two access ports. One port may beconfigured for accepting an incoming 24 VDC power supply to the wirelessrepeater 30. The second port may be a communication port 40 located onthe outside of the enclosure 32 for connecting the circuit board 36 to alocal computer. The wireless repeater 30 may further include an antenna42 connected to a circuit board 36 and mounted externally to the metalenclosure 32. The enclosure 32 may further include a mounting assembly34 with holes 35 for mounting the enclosure 32 onto a surface.

FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment of a central wireless router 50adapted to communicate with a wireless repeater 30 and/or monitoringsystem 10. The wireless router 50 includes an enclosure 52 having thesame UL/CSA certifications as the monitoring system 10. The enclosure 52may further include a mounting assembly 62 with holes 63 for mountingthe enclosure 52 onto a surface. A built-in circuit board 54 installedin the enclosure may be embedded software to allow RF, Wi-Fi andBluetooth communication with the wireless repeater 30 and/or monitoringsystem 10 via antenna 56. The central wireless router 50 may alsoinclude a communication port 60 configured to receive hardwiredcommunication via 4 . . . 20 mA, RS 485, Ethernet IP. The wirelessrouter 50 may also be connected to the internet allowing data to berouted to system control. Additionally, the circuit board 54 may includean attenuation filter, a power source and antenna fuses.

Once the wireless router 50 receives data from the monitoring system 10or wireless repeater 30, the wireless router 50 may use an internetconnection to move the sensor data to a system control comprised ofsystem control software and system control hardware. In one embodiment,the system control software may include software components such as adata acquisition system (e.g., sensor data including dust, temperature,humidity, airflow, etc.), data analysis, database and databasemanagement, predictive maintenance, and interfacing with otherindustrial systems. In one embodiment, the system control hardware maybe a server. For instance, the server may be at a location such as anenterprise data center or may be cloud-based.

A customer can login to the server remotely and program individualmonitoring systems 10 and adjust device alarm parameters. Customers mayalso remotely monitor average dust accumulations over specific areas orzones or at individual monitoring system units. The system controlsoftware may also be adapted to allow customers to route data back fromthe server to a plant or corporate server.

In various embodiments, each sensor is adapted to be programmed to setupalarm thresholds when average dust accumulation levels reachunacceptable levels. For example, two dry contact relays on the circuitboard 20 could be used to activate horns, light or turn on and offequipment near the individual sensor. Additionally, the cloud-basedsystem control software can be configured to alert plant and corporatepersonnel when alarm levels are reached. Data analytic tools can also beused to analyze dust accumulation data using the cloud-based systemcontrol software. In some embodiments, the system control software mayhave functional blocks including AI machine learning, predictivemaintenance, data analytics and visualization, etc. The system controlsoftware may further be configured to perform system-level tasks such assystem testing and calibration, database management, interface andintegration with other industrial systems (including alarm andmonitoring systems), interface and integrate with mobile devices, etc.The system control software may be configured to perform regulatorycompliance task automation, including required record keeping, formgeneration, etc.

The system control may be configured to determine the rate of change ofdust accumulation over set time intervals and graph the dustaccumulation to determine if the rate of change is steady, linear orexponential so that a facility may make inferences about the functioningof equipment in a room where the continuous dust accumulation monitoringsystem is installed. For example, an equipment malfunction may beindicated by a sudden change in the rate that dust accumulates on asample area. For instance, a dust accumulation system that typicallyaccumulates 1/64″ of dust over 3 months may experience a suddenaccumulation of dust having a height of about 0.25″ over 2 hours, whichmay indicate an equipment malfunction nearby the dust accumulationmonitoring system (e.g., a loose hose).

Possible applications of the above system may include monitoringenclosed combustible dust areas inside manufacturing facilities such asgrain mill bid deck areas, hammer mill rooms, truck & rail receiving &loadout areas, tunnels, elevator shafts, electrical chases, and aboveduct work, I-beams and build support structures, under-ground mineapplications. Other applications may also include sifting rooms, mixingrooms, processing rooms, test cells for 3D printing, monitoring aboveceiling tiles, and process manufacturing areas in the followingindustries: feed mills, grain mills, pet food plants, pharmaceutical,forest products industries to include plywood, OSB, particle board, andother forest products engineered wood, plastics, sugar refineries,fertilizer manufacturing, chemical & polymer manufacturing, ammunitionmanufacturing, metal manufacturing and processing operations, breweries,ethanol manufacturing, starch & gluten manufacturing, commercialbakeries and coal fired utilities. Other uses could include monitoringfor non-combustible hazardous dust accumulation levels such as militaryinstallation & government building monitoring applications, researchfacilities, hospitals, construction sites concerned with nuisance orhazardous dust such as silica. The above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be implemented in accordance with or inconjunction with one or more of a variety of different types of systems,such as, but not limited to, those described below.

The present disclosure contemplates a variety of different systems eachhaving one or more of a plurality of different features, attributes, orcharacteristics. A “system” as used herein refers to variousconfigurations of: (a) one or more monitoring systems; and (b) one ormore personal computing devices, such as desktop computers, laptopcomputers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants, mobile phones,and other mobile computing devices. Many of the tasks, such as remotelylogging in to the server, programming individual monitoring systems,adjusting device alarm parameters and monitoring dust accumulations maybe performed with personal computing devices.

Thus, in various embodiments, the system of the present disclosureincludes: (a) one or more computing devices in combination with one ormore monitoring systems; (b) one or more personal computing devices, andone or more monitoring systems, alone, or in combination with oneanother; (c) a single monitoring system; and/or (d) a plurality ofmonitoring systems in combination with one another.

In certain embodiments in which the system includes a personal computingdevice in combination with a monitoring system, the monitoring systemincludes any suitable circuit board that has at least one processor andat least one memory device or data storage device. As further describedherein, the personal computing device includes at least one processorconfigured to transmit and receive data or signals representing events,messages, commands, or any other suitable information between thepersonal computing device and the monitoring system. The processor ofthe personal computing device is configured to execute the events,messages, or commands represented by such data or signals in conjunctionwith the operation of the personal computing device. Moreover, theprocessor of the monitoring system is configured to transmit and receivedata or signals representing events, messages, commands, or any othersuitable information between the monitoring system and the personalcomputing device. The processor of the monitoring system is configuredto execute the events, messages, or commands represented by such data orsignals in conjunction with the operation of the monitoring system.

In embodiments in which the system includes a personal computing deviceconfigured to communicate with a monitoring system through a datanetwork, the data network is a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), a public network such as the Internet, or a privatenetwork. The monitoring system and the personal computing device areconfigured to connect to the data network or remote communications linkin any suitable manner. In various embodiments, such a connection isaccomplished via: a conventional phone line or other data transmissionline, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a T-1 line, a coaxial cable, afiber optic cable, a wireless or wired routing device, a mobilecommunications network connection (such as a cellular network or mobileInternet network), or any other suitable medium.

It will be appreciated that any combination of one or more computerreadable media may be utilized. The computer readable media may be acomputer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. Acomputer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limitedto, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductorsystem, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing, including a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an appropriate optical fiberwith a repeater, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), anoptical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, acomputer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain, or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program codeembodied on a computer readable signal medium may be transmitted usingany appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of theforegoing.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any of a number ofpatentable classes or context including any new and useful process,machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and usefulimprovement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure maybe implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardwareimplementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a“circuit,” “module,” “component,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects ofthe present disclosure may take the form of a computer program productembodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readableprogram code embodied thereon.

It will be appreciated that all of the disclosed methods and proceduresherein can be implemented using one or more computer programs orcomponents. These components may be provided as a series of computerinstructions on any conventional computer-readable medium, includingRAM, SATA DOM, or other storage media. The instructions may beconfigured to be executed by one or more processors which, whenexecuting the series of computer instructions, performs or facilitatesthe performance of all or part of the disclosed methods and procedures.

Unless otherwise stated, devices or components of the present disclosurethat are in communication with each other do not need to be incontinuous communication with each other. Further, devices or componentsin communication with other devices or components can communicatedirectly or indirectly through one or more intermediate devices,components or other intermediaries. Further, descriptions of embodimentsof the present disclosure herein wherein several devices and/orcomponents are described as being in communication with one another doesnot imply that all such components are required, or that each of thedisclosed components must communicate with every other component. Inaddition, while algorithms, process steps and/or method steps may bedescribed in a sequential order, such approaches can be configured towork in different orders. In other words, any ordering of stepsdescribed herein does not, standing alone, dictate that the steps beperformed in that order. The steps associated with methods and/orprocesses as described herein can be performed in any order practical.Additionally, some steps can be performed simultaneously orsubstantially simultaneously despite being described or implied asoccurring non-simultaneously.

It will be appreciated that algorithms, method steps and process stepsdescribed herein can be implemented by appropriately programmedcomputers and computing devices, for example. In this regard, aprocessor (e.g., a microprocessor or controller device) receivesinstructions from a memory or like storage device that contains and/orstores the instructions, and the processor executes those instructions,thereby performing a process defined by those instructions. Furthermore,aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computerprogram product embodied in one or more computer readable media havingcomputer readable program code embodied thereon.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL2002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on a user's computer, partly on a user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on a user's computer and partly ona remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In thelatter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Where databases are described in the present disclosure, it will beappreciated that alternative database structures to those described, aswell as other memory structures besides databases may be readilyemployed. The drawing figure representations and accompanyingdescriptions of any exemplary databases presented herein areillustrative and not restrictive arrangements for stored representationsof data. Further, any exemplary entries of tables and parameter datarepresent example information only, and, despite any depiction of thedatabases as tables, other formats (including relational databases,object-based models and/or distributed databases) can be used to store,process and otherwise manipulate the data types described herein.Electronic storage can be local or remote storage, as will be understoodto those skilled in the art. Appropriate encryption and other securitymethodologies can also be employed by the system of the presentdisclosure, as will be understood to one of ordinary skill in the art.

Although the present approach has been illustrated and described hereinwith reference to preferred embodiments and specific examples thereof,it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art thatother embodiments and examples may perform similar functions and/orachieve like results. All such equivalent embodiments and examples arewithin the spirit and scope of the present approach.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A continuous dust accumulation monitoringsystem comprising: an enclosure adapted for use in electrical hazardouslocations, wherein the enclosure comprises an external surfacecomprising a floor; a sample area comprising a platform extending fromthe floor of the external surface of the enclosure for collectingambient dust, wherein the platform is elevated above the floor; and adust accumulation sensor assembly installed in the enclosure, whereinthe dust accumulation sensor assembly comprises a camera secured withinthe enclosure and to the side of the sample area, wherein the samplearea is within a field of view of the camera, wherein the dustaccumulation sensor assembly is configured to measure dust heightcontinuously via the camera as dust accumulates on the sample area, andwherein the dust accumulation sensor assembly is configured to generatea signal based on the dust height viewed by the camera on the samplearea.
 2. The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system of claim 1,wherein the camera provides a visual feed of the sample area and isconfigured to measure one or more of dust particle size andconcentration of airborne dust.
 3. The continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system of claim 1, wherein the dust accumulation sensorassembly comprises the camera in combination with a laser sensorconfigured to measure dust height.
 4. The continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system of claim 1, wherein the height of the sample area isadjustable.
 5. The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system ofclaim 1 further comprising a circuit board within the enclosureconfigured to receive the signal from the dust accumulation sensorassembly.
 6. The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system of claim5, further comprising a local communication port connected to thecircuit board adapted to communicate with a computing device connectedto the local communication port.
 7. The continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system of claim 5, further comprising an alarm systemconnected to the circuit board, wherein the circuit board provides analert signal to the alarm system when the dust accumulated on the samplearea has exceeded a threshold.
 8. The continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system of claim 1, wherein the dust accumulation sensorassembly comprises the camera in combination with an uncollimated lightsource.
 9. The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system of claim1, wherein the sample area comprises a first edge and a second edge, andwherein the dust accumulates on the sample area in an unevendistribution between the first edge and the second edge.
 10. Thecontinuous dust accumulation monitoring system of claim 9, wherein thefirst edge and the second edge are in the field of view of the camera.11. The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system of claim 9,wherein the uneven distribution of the dust is in the field of view ofthe camera.
 12. A continuous dust accumulation monitoring systemcomprising: an enclosure adapted for use in electrical hazardouslocations; a sample area on an external surface of the enclosure forcollecting ambient dust; a dust accumulation sensor assembly installedin the enclosure configured to generate a signal based on the amount ofambient dust collected on the sample area, wherein the dust accumulationsensor assembly comprises a camera secured within the enclosure and tothe side of the sample area, wherein the dust accumulation sensorassembly is configured to measure dust height continuously via thecamera as dust accumulates on the sample area; and a processing deviceconfigured to receive the signal from the dust accumulation sensorassembly and determine a rate of change of dust accumulation over time.13. The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system of claim 12wherein the processing device comprises a circuit board within theenclosure and a remote system control.
 14. The continuous dustaccumulation monitoring system of claim 13 wherein the circuit board isadapted to communicate with the system control, and wherein the systemcontrol is configured to determine the rate of change of dustaccumulation over time.
 15. The continuous dust accumulation monitoringsystem of claim 12, wherein the sample area comprises a first edge and asecond edge, and wherein the dust accumulates on the sample area in anuneven distribution between the first edge and the second edge.
 16. Thecontinuous dust accumulation monitoring system of claim 15, wherein thefirst edge and the second edge are in the field of view of the camera.17. The continuous dust accumulation monitoring system of claim 15,wherein the uneven distribution of the dust is in the field of view ofthe camera.
 18. A continuous dust accumulation monitoring systemcomprising: a sample area comprising a platform comprising a first edgeand a second edge; a dust accumulation sensor assembly comprising acamera positioned to the side of the sample area, wherein the samplearea is within a field of view of the camera, wherein the dustaccumulation sensor assembly is configured to measure dust heightcontinuously via the camera as dust accumulates on the sample area in anuneven distribution between the first edge and the second edge; andwherein the dust accumulation sensor assembly is configured to generatea signal based on the dust height.
 19. The continuous dust accumulationmonitoring system of claim 18, wherein the first edge and the secondedge are in the field of view of the camera.
 20. The continuous dustaccumulation monitoring system of claim 18, wherein the unevendistribution of the dust is in the field of view of the camera.